Research & Insights

“Progress belongs to the Askers; the smarter the question, the lesser the guessing.”― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel

Asking smart and tough questions until we get answers― that work is what we do. We know that diversity, inclusion, leadership, unconscious bias, cognitive differences, multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, and other such human dynamics are complex and constantly changing. We apply the Nextions Next Question–Next Connection–Next Action model to design interdisciplinary studies to break down the complexities so that we can help you think smarter and lead better in your workplace.

If diversity of backgrounds and perspectives gives us the ability to get inspiration and ideas from cultures and traditions different from our own, what, if any, is our responsibility to recognize and honor the sources for our inspiration and ideas?

The research on how our brains work —how we think—has been amassing at a tremendous rate over the last two decades, and we have learned and continue to learn that a lot of what we think we are thinking is actually not thinking.

In 2011, St. Mary Medical Center of Northwest Indiana advertised its weight-loss and bariatric surgery services through a series of billboards that boldly stated: Obesity is a disease. Not a decision. The hospital expected to spark a debate on obesity, but it was not prepared for the outrage and anger that the billboards provoked.

In a Washington Post online piece in August, a columnist wrote: “You can understand if President Obama would rather talk about the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq, where he has scored some victories, than talk about the unholy mess in Ferguson, Mo.”

Women have been talking for decades about the realities of consistently being interrupted by men when they speak in the workplace; however, the focus on men interrupting women at work has recently intensified to a point where new vocabulary is deliberately sarcastic, not to disrespect or demean, but to highlight the frustration that the interruptive behavior continues to engender.

As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, the world often turns to the iconic and inspiring words of Dr. Kinds “I Have A Dream” speech. Yes, this historical speech delivered to hundreds of thousands of people at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, was a game-changing call to action for a nation in crisis. For me, the lesser-known speech that he delivered to a small crowd at Western Michigan University just a few months later on December 16, 1963, holds the words that most profoundly impact how leaders need to think and lead today.

Is history the same thing as tradition? Is tradition always derived from history? These questions, while somewhat philosophical in nature, raise important questions about how we gather, connect and celebrate holidays in today’s workplaces.

There is no doubt that adjectives are seen by many as having merely supporting roles in language constructions where nouns are the lead players. However, when it comes to active inclusion, changing particular nouns into adjectives can allow for a change in the way that those nouns, as nouns, just cannot do. This is especially true when we deal with the -ists in our vocabulary when discussing differences.

Once we recognize that unconscious biases creep into our recruiting and hiring practices without our knowledge, we can tweak our practices with simple changes that can reduce the impact of bias on recruiting and hiring decisions.

Given our finding in a previous study that supervising lawyers are more likely than not to perceive African American lawyers as having subpar writing skills in comparison to their Caucasian counterparts, we asked if confirmation bias unconsciously causes supervising lawyers to more negatively evaluate legal writing by an African American lawyer.

Think Smarter. Lead Better.

Diversity and independence are important because the best collective decisions are the product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromise.

James Surowiecki

It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.

Albert Einstein

Difference of opinion is helpful in religion.

Thomas Jefferson

Wide differences of opinion in matters of religious, political, and social belief must exist if conscience and intellect alike are not to be stunted, if there is to be room for healthy growth.

Theodore Roosevelt

The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.

Albert Einstein

Differences challenge assumptions.

Anne Wilson Schaef

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.

Tony Robbins

One must even beware of too much certainty that the answer to life's problems can only be found in one way and that all must agree to search for light in the same way and cannot find it in any other way.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Controversial' as we all know, is often a euphemism for 'interesting and intelligent.

Kevin Smith

America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered.

Louis D. Brandeis

There never were in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity.

Michel de Montaigne

When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.

Charles Evan Hughes

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences.

Mikhail Gorbachev

In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction.

Audre Lorde

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all I can borrow.

Woodrow Wilson

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.

Walter Lippmann

Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.

Stephen R. Covey

Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.

Stephen R. Covey

Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike.

Madame De Stael

Diversity creates dimension in the world.

Elizabeth Ann Lawless

The biggest mistake is believing there is one right way to listen, to talk, to have a conversation -- or a relationship.

Deborah Tannen

Honest difference of views and honest debate are not disunity. They are the vital process of policy among free men.

Herbert Hoover

Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation.

Mahatma Gandhi

Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.

Isaac Asimov

Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs.

Leo Tolstoy

Honest difference of views and honest debate are not disunity.They are the vital process of policy among free men.